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Notes Leftys Major Season Almost a Bust

TULSA, Okla. -- Having failed to win a major for the first time since 2003, Phil Mickelson said his win at THE PLAYERS Championship -- the so-called fifth major -- was 'what salvaged the year for me.'

After tying for 24th at the Masters, Mickelson injured his left wrist while practicing for the U.S. Open, then missed the cut at Oakmont and at the British Open. He shot a 1-under 69 Sunday to end the PGA Championship at 6-over 286 in a tie for 32nd place.

'My other four performances in the majors were not what I wanted obviously, but I don't want to be too hard on myself because for a couple, I wasn't able to make the swings and hit the shots I needed to try to hit,' Mickelson said.

The injury has changed Mickelson's outlook for the fall.

'Usually this time of the year after the PGA, I'm ready to pack it in,' Mickelson said. 'But because I haven't played or because I feel like I haven't been able to play and practice three months even though I've tried, my excitement level to get back out and compete is still very high right now.'

Mickelson said the wrist injury 'should be in the past now' and he wishes the PGA Championship had been a couple weeks later so he'd have had a better chance to prepare.

SIMON SAYS:Simon Dyson had been so worn down playing golf that he decided to take three weeks off before the PGA Championship. He came back thinking 'a top 30 would have been a dream.'

The Englishman easily surpassed that goal, shooting a 6-under-par 64 Sunday for the low round of the day to finish in a tie for sixth place.

'One of the best days I've had for a long time,' said Dyson, who has won twice on the European Tour and four times on the Asian Tour.

Dyson carded the best front nine total of the week with a 4-under 31, then added three more birdies on the back nine. All that kept him from matching the major championship record of 63 was a three-putt for bogey on No. 10.

'Everything just seemed to click today,' Dyson said.

Dyson had played eight tournaments in a nine-week span, missing the cut in the final two, before deciding to take the break. While he continued to work out, he put his clubs away for two full weeks before resuming practice last week. In the meantime, he went out a few nights with friends and took his girlfriend on vacation for a few days.

'Nothing felt good. My head was somewhere it shouldn't be,' Dyson said. 'And I just thought I needed to recharge the batteries and get my appetite back.'

Dyson said he may work more down time into his schedule, particularly if the result is such a strong finish in a major. Dyson's best finish at a major had been a tie for 34th at the 2005 British Open. He'd missed the cut at his only trip to the U.S. Open and his other three British Opens.

'It's something I'll savor for a long time,' Dyson said. 'Unless I do something better the next couple of years.'

TOUTING TIGER:With his win, Tiger Woods became only the third player to win at least four PGA Championships. He's one behind Walter Hagen and Jack Nicklaus.

He's the only player to repeat at the PGA Championship since Denny Shute won consecutive titles in 1936-37. Woods also repeated in 1999-2000. Hagen, who won four straight titles from 1924 to 1927, is the only player to win more than two in a row.

Only Woods and Nicklaus have won at least one major in three consecutive years on two separate occasions.

PAVIN'S PENALTY:Corey Pavin's caddie moved a rake out of the way during an errant bunker shot at the par-3 sixth hole, allowing the ball to roll down a hill and into the water. Even though his action allowed Pavin's shot to enter the hazard instead of avoiding it, the 1995 U.S. Open champion was still assessed a two-stroke penalty.

Pavin played another shot out of the bunker, then two-putted for an 8.

Tim Herron also ran into trouble with the rake. After hitting his tee shot into the water, his shot from the drop zone hit the rake. When the rake was moved, the ball rolled into the water. He was able to drop again in a spot where the ball wouldn't roll off, and carded a 7.

DIVOTS:John Senden carded a 71 to earn his first top five finish at a major. His previous best finish was a tie for 35th at last year's British Open. 'It's been a great week. I'm really, really excited.' ... Mike Small, the University of Illinois golf coach, edged Ryan Benzel of Seattle by one stroke to finish as the top club professional in the field. ... John Daly's second shot on the par-5 fifth hole got stuck in a tree. After a drop, He ended up making bogey. Daly, who shot a 67 in the first round, shot his third straight 73 on Sunday and finished the tournament at 6 over. ... Graeme Storm, who opened with a 65 to take the first-round lead, shot 78 Sunday and ended up at 13-over 293 for the tournament. ... Anyone looking to buy a camouflage cap like the one worn by Boo Weekley will have to wait. 'They can't get one like this right now,' said Weekley, an avid hunter and fisherman. 'It ain't on the market.'

Tiger's checklist: How he can contend at Augusta

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Augusta is already on the minds of most players here at the Honda Classic, and that includes the only one in the field with four green jackets.

Yes, Tiger Woods has been talking about the Masters ever since he started this latest comeback at Torrey Pines. These three months are all about trying to build momentum for the year’s first major.

Woods hasn’t revealed his schedule past this week, but his options are limited. He’s a good bet to play at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he has won eight times, but adding another start would be a departure from the norm. He’s not eligible for the two World Golf Championship events, in Mexico and Austin, and he has never played the Valspar Championship or the Houston Open.

So there’s a greater sense of urgency this week at PGA National, which is realistically one of his final tune-ups.

How will Woods know if he’s ready to contend at Augusta? Here’s his pre-Masters checklist:

1. Stay healthy

So far, so good, as Woods tries to resume a normal playing schedule following four back surgeries since 2014. Though he vowed to learn from his past mistakes and not push himself, it was a promising sign that Woods felt strong enough to sign up for the Honda, the second of back-to-back starts on separate coasts.

Another reason for optimism on the health front: The soreness that Woods felt after his season opener at Torrey Pines wasn’t related to his surgically repaired back. No, what ached most were his feet – he wasn’t used to walking 72 holes on hilly terrain.

Woods is stiffer than normal, but that’s to be expected. His back is fused.

2. Figure out his driver

Augusta National is more forgiving off the tee than most major courses, putting more of a premium on approach shots and recoveries.

That’s good news for Woods, who has yet to find a reliable tee shot. Clearly, he is most comfortable playing a fade and wants to take the left side of the course out of play, but in competition he’s been plagued by a two-way miss.

In two starts this year, Woods has hit only 36 percent of the fairways, no matter if he was using driver, fairway wood or long iron.

Unfortunately, Woods is unlikely to gain any significant insight into his driver play this week. PGA National’s Champion Course isn’t overly long, but there is water on 15 of the 18 holes. As a result, he said he likely will hit driver only four times a round, maybe five, and otherwise rely on his 3-wood and 2-iron.

Said Rory McIlroy: “Being conservative off the tee is something that you have to do here to play well.”

That won’t be the case at Augusta.

3. Clean up his iron play

As wayward as Woods has been off the tee, his iron play hasn’t impressed, either.

At Riviera, he hit only 16 greens in regulation – his fewest in a Tour event as a professional. Of course, Woods’ chances of hitting the green are reduced when he’s playing from the thick rough, sand and trees, but he also misfired on six of the eight par 3s.

Even when Woods does find the green, he’s not close enough to the hole. Had he played enough rounds to qualify, his proximity to the hole (39 feet, 7 inches) would rank 161st on Tour.

That won’t be good enough at Augusta, where distance control and precision are paramount.

Perhaps that’s why Justin Thomas said last week what many of us were thinking: “I would say he’s a pretty good ways away.”

4. Get into contention somewhere

As much as he would have liked to pick off a win on the West Coast, Woods said that it’s not a prerequisite to have a chance at the Masters. He cited 2010, when he tied for fourth despite taking four months off after the fallout from his scandal.

In reality, though, there hasn’t been an out-of-nowhere Masters champion since Charl Schwartzel in 2011. Since then, every player who eventually donned the green jacket either already had a win that year or at least a top-3 finish worldwide.

“I would like to play well,” Woods said. “I would like to win golf tournaments leading into it. The years I’ve won there, I’ve played really well early.”

Indeed, he had at least one win in all of the years he went on to win the Masters (1997, 2000, ’01, ’05). Throw in the fact that Woods is nearly five years removed from his last Tour title, and it’s reasonable to believe that he at least needs to get himself into contention before he can seriously entertain winning another major.

And so that’s why he’s here at the Honda, trying to find his game with seven weeks to go.

Players winner to get 3-year exemption into PGA

Although The Players isn’t golf’s fifth major, it received a boost in that direction this week.

The PGA of America has adjusted its criteria for eligibility into the PGA Championship, extending an exemption for the winner of The Players to three years.

According to an official with the PGA of America, the association felt the winner of The Players deserved more than a single-year exemption, which had been the case, and the move is consistent with how the PGA Tour’s annual flagship event is treated by the other majors.

Winners of The Players were already exempt for three years into the Masters, U.S. Open and The Open Championship.

Thomas: Playing in front of Tiger even more chaotic

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Justin Thomas may be going from the frying pan to the fire of Tiger Woods’ pairings.

Translation: He’s going from being grouped with Woods last week in the first two rounds at the Genesis Open to being grouped directly in front of Woods this week at the Honda Classic.

“Which might be even worse than playing with him,” Thomas said Wednesday.

Typically, the pairing in front of Woods deals with a lot of gallery movement, with fans racing ahead to get in position to see Woods’ next shot.

Thomas was quoted after two rounds with Tiger at Riviera saying fans “got a little out of hand,” and saying it’s disappointing some golf fans today think it’s “so amusing to yell and all that stuff while we’re trying to hit shots.”

With 200,000 fans expected this week at the Honda Classic, and with the Goslings Bear Trap pavilion setting a party mood at the 16th green and 17th tee, that portion of the course figures to be quite lively at PGA National.

“I touched on this a little bit last week,” Thomas said. “I think it got blown out of proportion, was just taken out of context, and worded differently than how I said it or meant it.

“I love the fans. The fans are what I hope to have a lot of, what all of us hope to have a lot of. We want them cheering us on. But it's those certain fans that are choosing to yell at the wrong times, or just saying stuff that's completely inappropriate.”

Thomas said it’s more than ill-timed shouts. It’s the nature of some things being said.

“It's one thing if it's just you and I talking, but when you're around kids, when you're around women, when you're around families, or just around people in general, some of the stuff they are saying to us is just extremely inappropriate,” he said. “There’s really no place for it anywhere, especially on a golf course.

“I feel like golf is pretty well known as a classy sport, not that other sports aren't, but it has that reputation.”

Thomas said the nature of the 17th hole at PGA National’s Champion Course makes it a more difficult tee shot than the raucous 16th at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Typically, players like to hear fans get into the action before or after they hit shots. Ill-timed bluster, however, makes a shot like the one at Honda’s 17th even tougher.

“That hole is hard enough,” Thomas said. “I don't need someone yelling in my ear on my backswing that I'm going to hit it in the water, to make it any harder. I hope it gets better, just for the sake of the game. That's not helping anything. That's not helping grow the game.”

Those who follow golf know an ill-timed shout in a player’s backswing is different than anything a fan says at a football, basketball or baseball game. An ill-timed comment in a backswing has a greater effect on the outcome of a competition.

“Just in terms of how much money we're playing for, how many points we're playing for ... this is our jobs out here, and you hate to somehow see something that a fan does, or something that they yell, influence something that affects [a player’s] job,” Thomas said.

Rory: Phil said RC task force just copied Europe

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Playing the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am two weeks ago, Rory McIlroy quizzed Phil Mickelson about what the Americans got out of the U.S. Ryder Cup task force’s overhaul.

McIlroy and Mickelson were paired together at Pebble Beach.

“Basically, all they are doing is copying what the Europeans have done,” McIlroy said. “That's what he said.”

The Europeans claimed their sixth of seven Ryder Cups with their victory at Gleneagles in 2014. That brought about a sea change in the way the United States approached the Ryder Cup. Mickelson called out the tactics in Gleneagles of captain Tom Watson, who was outmaneuvered by European captain Paul McGinley.

The Americans defeated Europe at Hazeltine two years ago with that new European model.

“He said the first thing they did in that task force was Phil played a video, a 12-minute video of Paul McGinley to all of them,” McIlroy said. “So, they are copying what we do, and it's working for them. It's more cohesive, and the team and the core of that team are more in control of what they are doing, instead of the PGA of America recruiting and someone telling them what to do.”